Socialists call for 426-euro-a-month benefit for anyone with no income

Already, those whose dole money has run out may be entitled to this benefit for rolling six-month periods, although restrictions in place mean adult children living with their parents may not be entitled to it, among other people.

And for those who have never signed on the dole – having never worked, had to quit their jobs or who were self-employed and were forced to give up their activity, for example – they are not usually entitled to any money.

Socialist head Pedro Sánchez says all unemployed persons with no income who are either over 45 or who have children should be entitled to this benefit, and a further 100 euros a month per child should be paid.

Victims of domestic violence should also receive it, since at present those who manage to obtain benefits as a result of having been forced to leave abusive partners or spouses only receive around 200 euros – and even then, normally only if they have dependent children.

Disabled persons without a sick pension should receive 426 euros a month, too, Sánchez says.

The benefit would be renewed every six months and continue for as long as Spain's unemployment level – currently close to 27 per cent although slightly lower in July and August due to seasonal tourism-related work – remains at over 15 per cent.

It would be funded by the surplus of between 5.8 and 6.8 billion that the dole office will have by the end of this year as a result of fewer and fewer jobseekers claiming.

This is because dole money is paid at a rate of one month for every four in full-time work and on a pro-rata basis for part-timers, up to a maximum of two years.

With the financial crisis having started in earnest in late 2008 and fewer people in work, most of the job destruction happened in the first few years and those still on the dole are no longer entitled to any money.

Fewer people have been made redundant in latter years because numbers of residents in jobs have plummeted.

This benefit would be an automatic right and the only qualification requirement would be to have been registered with the dole office for at least a year, says Sánchez.

And this requisite may be waived if the person in question has not registered as a jobseeker – such as if he or she is a domestic violence victim who has had to move house and give up their employment.

Technically, however, anyone without a job is required to sign on the dole even if they know they do not qualify for any money – except where they have accumulated claimable dole money but have another source of income that would make it illegal to receive it, since once signed on, anyone who has dole funds in the pot is obliged to claim them until they either find a job, set up as self-employed or it runs out.

It would then be claimable retroactively from August 1 this year.

The socialists intend to put this all forward as a motion at the next Parliamentary meeting in September, after the summer break.

In the meantime, a new system called the 'Youth Guarantee' (Garantía Juvenil) means that as from yesterday (Tuesday, August 5) all young people aged 16 to 25, whether or not they are working, or up to age 30 if they are registered as being at least 33 per cent disabled can sign up to a government website which gives them free training and education in computer use, business start-up and running, career guidance, customer service and effective business communication.

The website, www.garantiajuvenil.gob.es, requires an electronic form of identification to be able to register.